Last night social media was alive with The Sound of Music. NBC’s intrepid attempt at a live recreation of Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical masterpiece was truly a must-see event. Early ratings numbers suggest that the live musical event — which starred Carrie Underwood and Stephen Moyer —dominated the television landscape making it the number one show of the night for all three hours.

A ratings mammoth? Definitely. A critical hit? That’s up for debate. While some reviewers were quick to praise the special, others readily slammed it.

Keep reading below to see what critics are saying about The Sound of Music Live!:

2. “Neither performer was helped by the fact that the production stuck to the original Broadway show, which premiered more than half a century ago. It was full of business that might be delightful or even exciting on a stage…but on a wide-screen television it tended to look like just that, lots and lots of stage business. Why was this done live?” – Tom Gliatto, People

3. “It’s hard not to root for this earnest adaptation to enjoy a measure of success, if only to encourage networks to continue to brave such events…. That macro view, however, can’t fully obscure the micro one. In terms of feeling like this production genuinely delivered, that’s one mountain “The Sound of Music Live!” just couldn’t climb.” Brian Lowry – Variety

4. “THE SOUND OF MUSIC was a stunning success beyond nearly any measure – a literal, musical and actual realization of the classic ‘Maria’ song lyric, ‘How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?’ Exceptional in every way. Remarkable.” Pat Cerasaro – Broadway World

5. “About 10 minutes into Thursday night’s much-hyped live performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘The Sound of Music’ on NBC, I started praying for a power outage to knock out my TV reception.” Don Aucoin – The Boston Globe

What did you think of Carrie Underwood and company? Are the critics being too harsh? Not harsh enough? Let us know!

To paraphrase an old saying, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, become critics for some publication.” If those who are the worst critics ever in a million years think they could do a better job than those who get down in the trenches and actually do it, then they should get out from behind their keyboards and do it.

The critics can suck it! Carrie did fantastic vocally – better then most broadway stars except the great Audra- and her acting was decent considering it was live and her first attempt to act. People need to stop sending her death threats and hate! Do you realize how sick and twisted you are!? Back off. She was fantastic.

Ms Underwood sang well (although noiceably out of breath following the “Do Re Mi” song. She’s attractive to look at, as well. But, her acting is wooden. She needs to learn a lot about stage movement and vocal inflections before she tackles a major role like Maria. I had problems with the balance between the orchestral accompaniment and the voices. The sound was blurry. And Audra MacDonald’s glorious voice was not heard to advantage. The kids were cute with the exception of the actress who played Lisl, who is attractive but looked too old for the part. Ditto for the actor who played the 17-year-old boyfriend. Altogether, I’d say it was a mediocre performance of a great and beloved musical classic. Why did NBC want to do it, and why, live?

Carrie and cast were so great!! I am so proud of them all! 18.5 million people watched so this is a big success no matter how you roll it! Carrie’s singing was superb! Her acting is a little inexperienced but not nearly as bad as they are saying.

These snarky critics were after carrie all year and had their minds made up long before she sang a note.

the harsh criticism is just a way for critics and mean spirited individuals to vent their opinions.i for one thought the singing of underwood and mcdonald was tops,especially
after listening to some so called music where the same words are repeated over and over,and the music is so loud we’ll probaly all need help to hear anything in the future.
the production was not perfect but it was certainly enjoyable.